It is worth noting that Tencent Holdings Ltd., a Chinese social media/gaming company, is a part-owner in both Bluehole Studios and Epic – each to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars – and might not want its investments suing each other. Also, PlayerUnknown’s currently runs on Epic’s Unreal Engine 4, which could also play a part in the settlement. We may never known the exact reason PUBG withdrew, but the cross-over between the two sides could have been a significant factor. As of right now, this appears to be the end of the legal conflict between PUBG and Epic.

On April 23, 2018, Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) filed a response to a Motion to Dismiss filed by Lauren Rogers, the mother of a teenaged Fortnite hacker (“C. R.”) facing a copyright infringement and breach of contract lawsuit filed by Epic last year.

Epic’s complaint argues that C.R. infringed its copyrights by injecting unauthorized computer code (that is, cheats) into Fortnite. C.R. allegedly recorded himself cheating in Fortnite and uploaded those videos to YouTube. Epic filed a DMCA request to take down those videos, to which CR apparently replied: “i did noting rong this strike is all wrong I was modding in a video game that isn’t against youtubes TOS Why was i striked ‼!.” According to Epic, C.R. had been banned from Fortnite at least fourteen times, but continued to dodge bans using fake names. Neither C.R. nor his mother have legal counsel.

Ms. Roger’s Motion to Dismiss, actually a letter filed by Ms. Rogers, allegedly admits that C.R. was a cheater but argues that the case should be dismissed because (1) Epic “has no capability of proving [that C.R. performed] any form of modification,” because (2) Epic “illegally” released C.R.’s name, because (3) Epic cannot prove “profit loss” from the cheating or that C.R. profited from his cheating, and (4) because Epic’s contracts (e.g., its terms of service) are invalid because C.R. is a minor. Epic responded by not only moving to seal certain portions of the trial record, but also by arguing that it was not required to make certain proofs at the pleading stage, and that, in any event, Ms. Roger’s arguments were legally unfounded.

These developments appear to put Epic in a useful, albeit awkward, position. On one hand, this suit provides a clear warning that even minors may find themselves sued for cheating in Fortnite. On the other hand, Epic is now pursuing a copyright suit against an unrepresented teen and his mother – definitely an interesting position from a public relations perspective.

Similar to previous cases (discussed here, here, here, and here), Epic alleges that Spoezy made, used, and sold cheating tools for Fortnite. Much unlike previous cases, however, to acquire jurisdiction against Spoezy, Epic merely argues that Spoezy purposefully availed himself to the privileges of conducting activities and doing business in North Carolina, rather than using the YouTube DMCA process. This may be because Spoezy is a resident of New York, unlike previous, non-American defendants.

As a fun side note, Spoezy’s website formerly described him as “Cheater | Designer | Editor,” though it now lists him as a “Gamer[,] Designer[, and] Editor.”

On January 8, 2018, Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) continued its legal crusade against alleged Fortnite hackers by suing Yash Gosai, a resident of Auckland, New Zealand, for copyright infringement, breach of contract, and conversion.

In previous cases (which we discussed here, here, and here), Epic sued alleged cheaters in Fortnite, generally targeting those distributing methods of cheating in-game. In this suit, Epic alleges that Gosai distributed an exploit which allowed players to obtained “V-bucks” (in-game currency) for free, stating: “[p]layers who use exploits to avoid paying for items in Fortnite are stealing from Epic.”

October 27, 2017, Epic Games, Inc. (“Epic”) sued three foreign individuals–James Mendes, Konstantin Vladimirovich Rak, and Oleksey Olekseevich Stegailo–for copyright infringement, trademark infringement, false designation of origin, breach of contract, and, under California law, unfair competition. Epic alleges that the defendants were distributing and popularizing cheats for the game Fornite. This suit may sound familiar: Epic filed similar suits against other alleged Fortnite hackers on October 11 and on October 17.

Epic’s strategy in this case is similar to its strategy in its suit against Philip Josefsson and Artem Yakovenko: file a DMCA complaint against a video demonstrating the hacks, wait for the defendant to file a counter-notification, and use the counter-notification as basis for suing the defendant in a U.S. court. The timing of Epic’s lawsuits appears to be the result of the timing of the defendants’ counter-notification.

On October 11, Epic Games, Inc. and Epic Games International (“Epic”) sued individuals Brandon Broom and Charles Vraspir in two separate suits (5:17-CV-0511 and 5:17-CV-0512) for copyright infringement, circumvention of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”), breach of contract, and intentional interference with contractual relations. The suits, filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina, relate to Epic’s game Fortnite.

Epic alleges that Broom and Vraspir not only cheated in Fortnite, but also assisted others in doing so on the website AddictedCheats.net. When cheating themselves, Broom and Vraspir allegedly intentionally targeted Fortnite streamers (i.e. “stream sniping”) because, allegedly per Vrapsir, “its [sic] fun to rage and see streamers cry about how loaded they are and then get them stomped anyways.” Epic’s complaints seem to suggest that Vraspir was particularly aggressive on cheating in Fortnite because he was banned from Fortnite: allegedly per Vraspir, his ban “unleash[ed] the beast” such that “Epic will have to take care or their game will die.”

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The information on this site is provided for informative and educational use only and should not be relied on as legal advice. No attorney-client relationship exists by virtue of you reading our blog. Always consult an attorney if you need specific legal guidance.